New York, May 1, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release today of an Al-Jazeera cameraman who was held for six years without charge or trial at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Al-Jazeera reported late this afternoon that Sami al-Haj had been freed and was on a plane that was expected…
CPJ’s Impunity Index ranks countries where killers of journalists go free New York, April 30, 2008 — Democracies from Colombia to India and Russia to the Philippines are among the worst countries in the world at prosecuting journalists’ killers according to the Impunity Index, a list of countries compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists…
Tunisia: New York, April 21, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about the Tunisian government’s increasing harassment of the opposition weekly Al-Mawkif. Over the past month, Tunisian authorities have prevented distribution of 4 issues of Al-Mawkif, published since 1984 by the opposition Progressive Democratic Party (PDP). The paper has been targeted by a…
IRAQ: New York, April 16, 2008—Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein was freed today from U.S. custody in Iraq, ending a two-year ordeal in which he fended off unsubstantiated accusations from the U.S. military that he collaborated with Iraqi insurgents. The AP reported that Hussein was “handed over to AP colleagues on Wednesday in Baghdad.”
New York, April 16, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death today of a Reuters cameraman who was killed in the Gaza strip while filming an Israeli tank. Cameraman Fadel Shana, 23, was killed and soundman Wafa Abu Mizyed, also in his 20s, was wounded after the crew stopped their car and began filming…
CPJ welcomes release of CBS journalist in Basra New York, April 14, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the release of CBS News journalist Richard Butler, who was freed in southern Iraq today after two months in captivity. Butler, a producer and photographer on assignment for CBS’ news magazine 60 Minutes was freed unharmed…
New York, April 9, 2008—The Committee Protect Journalists welcomes an Iraqi judicial committee’s decision to drop legal proceedings against Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, who has been held by U.S. authorities for two years on allegations shrouded in secrecy. The committee ordered that Hussein be freed “immediately” if no other charges were pending, AP reported today.…
Dear Mr. Bassiouni, The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express its deep concern about your company’s decision to stop carrying the signal of the London-based Al-Hewar Television. Nilesat, an Egyptian government-owned satellite transmission company, stopped carrying the channel on April 1 without warning or explanation, according to international news reports and Egypt-based journalists. The station remains accessible to viewers on the Atlantic Bird satellite system, according to news reports.
New York, April 7, 2008—Five years after a series of U.S. military strikes against media outlets in Baghdad killed three journalists, CPJ calls on the U.S. military to fully investigate the incidents and make its findings public. CPJ also calls on the U.S. military to implement procedures to address the presence of journalists on the…